Sunday, November 14, 2010

teardoppings

Check out our teardroppings HERE!!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

lucy's a hipster

And by "hipster", I mean she is semi-bohemian, rejects mainstream culture, and prides herself on being independent and "cool". And she wears sunglasses.



Nah...just kidding. I means she has hip dysplasia.

And, even though she's already endured ringworms, a torn dewclaw, getting attacked by a bigger dog and needing stiches, an enlarged spleen and elevated liver enzymes, and tick fever...we can now add hip dysplasia to the list.

And she's only 3!

And what's more interesting is that half of these things have happened right before big events or vacations. She got attacked by a dog the night before we took a trip to New England last year. She has some sort of scary episode (which turned out to be a result of tick fever) on Christmas Day last year, right before we were supposed to take a trip to California. And she now has hip dysplasia, right before we are supposed to go to New England again. Is this a sign? Is she trying to tell us she doesn't want us going anywhere?

Hip dysplasia, in a nutshell, occurs in the hip joint when the femoral head (the ball) and the acetabulum (the socket) do not fit together or function perfectly. In essence the top of the femur and the socket create a lot of friction and damage due to being shaped differently and not having enough tissue, muscle, or ligaments to support the joint. And because tissue, muscle, and ligaments do not properly support the joint, the femur and socket continue to separate from each other which causes addition friction and damage which results in further changes in the size and shape of the joint. It can develop at any age. It's common in large and giant breed dogs (or dogs who are overweight). It is not necessarily common in beagles, but it is common in pure breeds when there is a genetic predisposition for the condition.

We noticed over the weekend that she took a million years to climb stairs and completely stopped jumping altogether. There was one point where I hugged her and she shrieked like it was the most painful thing she ever felt. Made my blood curdle. So we set up an appointment on Monday afternoon and a few tests, xrays, and hundreds of dollars later, we were presented with the hip dysplasia diagnosis. So sad. I just want to hug her all the time because I feel like she is so defenseless. She's the sweetest thing in the world! She's very independent and not always cuddly or affectionate, but she loves everyone so much and gives the best hugs!!

The only thing I have left to say is that I really hope Lucy can get through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years without any new ailments. I don't think that's too much to ask, is it?
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